Definitely need expert help here....

[HvnzCaress]

My family (me, DH, DD14 and b-day boy DS turning 11) are going on our first ever trip to DW the last two weeks of August. I really want this to be a special trip where we get to sample a lot of what Disney has to offer since I don't know if we'll ever get back there as a family again. We have to be somewhat cautious budget wise so I am trying to be very careful about selecting any restraunts we will be dining in and the remainder of our meals we will be preparing ourselves at Ft. Wilderness.

Our first full day at the world will be one of few where we won't be taking a mid-day break to return to the resort (though given the heat etc I believe somewhat of a recharge will be necessary somehow). I intend to have breakfast at our campsite and since we will also have our dog along this trip I thought we would drive him over to the TTC kennels this day to make walking him at midday easier. My goal is to get to the MK for early entry.

My plan right now is to leave the MK about 11:30 when it starts to get more crowded. We would be able to then walk the dog at the TTC before hopping the monorail to Epcot where my plan is to mainly just visit Future World. I have already made a 3:10 PS for the Ice Cream Social.

Given this day's schedule so far what do you think we should do about lunch?

I've considered a few different options -

1) Bringing a cooler in the car with some sandwiches we could eat (I dont' know where exactly but somewhere) before going on to Epcot

2) Have an abbreviated sit-down meal at Le Cellier. Each of us could order just the cheese soup and then all split a rueben with fries so as to save room for our ice cream at the Garden Grill a bit later. (What time would I make a PS that we could make it to on time and give us time before our ice cream to get hungry again?)

3) Get some fish N chips at the UK counterservice?

I feel the drawback to 1&3 are that we wouldn't really get a "break" so to speak that would allow us to recharge and get out of the heat until the Ice Cream Social. Perhaps the social will be enough of a break?

Ugh I'm driving myself crazy....someone please help!

 

[CEDmom]

Have you considered going to a restaurant at one of the monorail resorts? They each have a casual place that serves burger, hot dogs etc. The ice cream is quite big (we just did the social a few weeks ago) so you don't want to have too much lunch. But maybe you could get 2 orders of something and split them.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there..

If you are leaving MK at 11:30 to go walk your pup - by the time you do that and get to EPCOT it might be after 1pm - you might not want to eat too much because you have the icecream social at 3:10pm and also you want to do futureworld.

I was thinking - instead of breakfast at FW how about hitting MK for EE then having a big breakfast there around 10:30am - then you can walk the pup and get to Epcot, you won't be starving and then you can enjoy your Ice Cream Social.

have fun whatever you do - I know it is hard to pick!!

>>^..^<<

 

[iwannabeminnie]

I was thinking that if you had a large breakfast at Fort Wildnerness before you went to the park you could just snack at the Magic Kingdom and be ready for the ice cream social at 3:30. Try a turkey leg, a hot dog, or some nachos. If you wait until you get to Epcot you will be famished and eat to much before the ice cream.

 

[LAWalz23]

If your dog could wait an extra hour, you can have a nice early sit down lunch at The Plaza Restaurant at MK. They have excellent sandwiches that are big enough to split and the soup is good too!

 

[kda]

It may take longer than you realize to walk to Canada and eat there, although it would be great to be in air conditioning for awhile. Then you're walking back to the ice cream social. I agree with a snack at MK or splitting quick meals. Plaza Restaurant is one of my very favorites -- excellent quality sandwiches in a nice, cool, sit-down environment. I'd recommend it sometime during your wonderful stay. August is very hot and can reduce appetites (not always a bad thing

 

[HvnzCaress]

Okay based on all your helpful replies I have been rethinking but I still need some help...

One thought is to stick with the plan above and have lunch at the Columbia Harbor House (upstairs if possible) around 11:30 at the MK. I'm trying to avoid buying hamburgers, hot dogs and the like since we'll be camping for two weeks and probably have our fill of this type of fare back at camp. We all like fish and chips and this is something we wouldn't be cooking ourselves.

However, we'll be in WDW for two weeks beginning on August 16th. I had been planning to make an early PS for the Crystal Palace for my son's birthday on August 26th. Now I wonder if I shouldn't make a later morning PS for Sunday the 17th. We could enjoy a couple hours of early entry then break for breakfast. The problem with this is we'll then loose the celebration aspect of the reservation and I'll need to come up with something special for his birthday. Then again, on the 26th I don't even know if we would be spending anymore time in the MK other than for the reservation since I'll be letting him pick the park and activities of that day.

What is the latest breakfast sitting for the crystal palace?

If we take the last sitting, will the breakfast be too much before the Ice Cream Social?

and round and round I go LOL but planning sure is fun!

 

[Miscrapper]

I would try to figure out which park your son wants to go to for his birthday and plan special meal there. Chef MIckeys has a fun character breakfast and dinner and I imagine they would do something fun for birthdays if you want to make a PS without being tied to a park that day.

If you are trying to watch money and all ready have ice cream social planned for one day I would eat breakfast at camp and then snack before leaving MK. They do allow small coolers in lockers by train station so you could bring sandwiches or cheese and crackers and fruit etc to get whem you are leaving to walk dog. You should be able to go until 3:00 without a break with your kids ages. Also if you see any shows at MK (like Tiki Birds or MIckey's PHilHarmagic) you will get to sit in air conditioning. Pirates of Carribean is cool and restful too!

 

[HvnzCaress]

I was under the impression that the lockers were inside the park and therefore fell under the no food in the park rule. Is that not correct?

 

[LAWalz23]

When I was there 3 weeks ago there were several people walking around with small coolers (actually they were mostly in carriages). I don't know what was in them though.
I agree with asking your son what he would like to do for his birthday. The night we went to the Cape May Clambake, the servers sang happy birthday to several adults and children.
PrimeTime 50s at the Studios might also be fun the servers will all sign a card and bring a dessert with candles and sing happy birthday.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I hope you don't take this the wrong way. Have you considered leaving your dog at home at the vet's or in a kennel there? Our dog is so much better off staying at the vet's instead of being trapped in the car for so long and then at an unfamiliar kennel. If you don't have to worry about the dog several times a day, you can have a much easier WDW vacation, especially for your first one.

 

[HvnzCaress]

Deb & Bill - I do not take your post the wrong way and in fact I appreciate your comments. I have been over and over the options regarding the dog a hundred times and can't even now say I'm 100% convinced that taking him is the right choice. However, since we will be in WDW for two full weeks I just feel its too long to leave him. Having him with us will allow me to bring him back with us to our tent at night so the separation won't be so great for either of us.

As for my son, asking what he wants to do doesn't really result in much right now because they have never been there and don't really understand what they are in for. We have tried to discuss the parks and rides, we've watched the travel channel and everything but they really don't seem to have a clue.

 

[iwannabeminnie]

Since your son has never been to WDW before I can see the dilemma you are in as far as letting him choose what he wants to do on his birthday. However, I can tell you that making a breakfast PS is indeed a CELEBRATION and may even be more so than a lunch or dinner PS would be, especially if you are planning on eating breakfast at your camp site most days, then breakfast out would be extra special.

 

[LAWalz23]

HvnzCaress, another suggestion is to buy or borrow a WDW guide book and let your son and daughter look through it. Also you have enough time to order a planning video and that may narrow down the choices. Also if he has a particular favorite character that might help you plan.
Most of the restaurants will do something if you tell them when you make the PS and remind the server when you sit down. Fourteen days should be a lot of fun.

 

[HvnzCaress]

We have watched the video and he as my copy of the official guide while I'm still reading through (for the third time) the unofficial guide. We've been planning this trip for over a year. His response ...I want to do it all! LOL

I'm really not too worried about planning activities for his actual b-day day as it will be nearing the end of our vacation and anything he chooses to do will most likely be repetative but I had chosen Crystal Palace because he likes Tigger and my daughter likes Pooh and I'm personally an Eeyore fan.

 

[Mis4Mouse]

I also have a puppy, and we are also going to be in WDW the last two weeks of August, so I understand your dilema regarding your dog..... We've decided to have our dog boarded at a place we really feel good about. It took me four months to find a place that was top notch, but not too cost prohibitive. I am gonna miss her a ton, but I really think for us it's the best decision.

I was wondering, since you are staying at FW anyways, couldn't you take advantage of the kennel they have on the property - just for the day? You might leave the dog there, and see if they offer a "play time" for a fee. Then you could do what you want to for the whole day, and the dog would be in an air conditioned enviroment, while still getting a walk by the staff. It might be worth looking into.... When we stayed at the FW cabins, we checked out the kennel and it seemed really nice.

Good luck with your planning! Hope it all works out for you!
Sue

 

[HvnzCaress]

D.O.Gee will be spending some days at Ft. Wilderness kennels and I'll return there to walk him on those days. But this being our first day and wanting to be sure we get the Ice Cream Social in we didn't want to have to return to the campground in the middle of the day so I thought I'd take him over to the TTC kennels instead. Epcot is the only kennel that offers a walking service and otherwise they are not let out of there kennels by the WDW staff

He is actually used to a three time a day schedule for going out - once in the morning, once in the later afternoon and once in the evening. He spends his days in his crate at home so this will be nothing new really for him. Taking him to the closer park just makes stopping to walk him easier for me.

 

[LAWalz23]

I would go ahead and do that then. You can choose from brekfast lunch or dinner. Also if you choose one meal and want to change it to another it probably would only take a phone call. My aunt is 71 years old and she also loves EEyore and was thrilled to take a picture with him on the last day of our trip when we had dinner at CP. The food was really good, too!